That Which Survives
by Wishing For Rainy Days
Summary: Andromeda never thought she would outlive them all. Her parents. Her darling daughter. Her sisters. And of the faces that come back to her, then one she sees more clearly is that of Bella, her beloved sister, to whom she said goodbye all those years ago. Now, Andromeda remembers the moment when they fell apart...


_**DISCLAIMER:** The ideas are mine, the characters belong to JK._

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><p><em>"I won't disappoint you, As you fall apart<em>  
><em>Some things should be simple, Even an end has a start"<br>An end has a start - Editors_

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><p>It had been a long time since anyone had walked the corridors of that house. It was obvious that time had passed. A thick layer of dust covered everything, from furniture to the floor, except underneath the windows whose glass had been broken, for years of exposure to rain and snow had washed away the dust and made room for mold. Spider webs covered empty frames, abandoned by the people in the portraits long ago.<p>

Andromeda didn't have to think about her destination, she simply allowed her feet to take her where she wanted to go. She had grown up in this house. It had been a long time, but she remembered it like the back of her hand.

Her steps echoed loudly in the empty house. She walked right past what used to be her mother's room, and she didn't stop at the door that used to be her own room either. But the door to the third room was opened. Just a crevice, but it was enough to make Andromeda stop. She pushed the wooden door and walked into what used to be her older sister's room.

Bellatrix. It had been a long time since she'd been in Bella's room. When she walked out of that house for the last time she didn't know it would be the last. But she remembered her last time in this room as if it was yesterday. She had called upon that memory many times, in the years that followed, during one of the many times she wished her sister was still by her side.

She sat on Bella's bed, much like she once had, and it all came back to her one more time…

The year was 1969. She was sixteen years old then, more than a year away from taking her Nastily Exhaustive Wizard Tests, but already, thinking about the future filled Andromeda with grief. She did not know exactly what she wanted to do with her life but she had no intention of following the path her family had been drafting for her since the day she was born. Andromeda was a daughter of the Most Ancient House of Black. A Noble house, she was told. But the truth was that there were no kings amongst wizards. And being a princess among people with no kings had not meaning at all.

There didn't seem to be anything special about being a Black. She was supposed to marry some pure-blood wizard her father would chose for her, based on considerations that had little to do with love. Such a marriage should take place just after she finished school, and from them on, she was to become a housewife, giving up on any careers or perspectives she might have envisioned for her future. After all, if she had other occupations they would distract her from the task of looking after the many children she was expected to provide her husband with. A continuation of the line. She was to teach them everything she had been taught about the meaning of being a pure blood. In time, the boys would grow to occupy positions of respect in the Wizardry Word, and the girls would follow the same path she had.

Had it ever occurred to them that she might have plans of her own? She was a brilliant young witch, and condemning her to a life of bearing children and staying home was such a waste! She would not allow them to do that to her. She would run away, if that's what it took. It would mean becoming an outcast, having no family to stand by her, but when had they ever helped anyway? Druella was far from a perfect mother figure, they had never been close… But Andromeda would hate to lose the love of her sisters. Perhaps that's why she hadn't done anything just yet, perhaps that's why she still came back home every summer and pretended to be a dutiful daughter. But in the end she would have to go. They could injure her heart, but she would not allow them to break her spirit.

These decisions were a great deal closer for Bella.

Bellatrix Black would graduate from Hogwarts in just a few months. Her marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange had been arranged since she was about seven years of age and it was to take place just after graduation. She would Bella harbored no good feelings towards Lestrange, and she dreaded the thought of becoming a house wife, but she would never dishonor her family by refusing to comply with their wishes.

Be that as it may, Andromeda knew her sister was deeply unhappy. She could see the sadness in her eyes. Bella would go through with the marriage, and fulfill her duties as a daughter of the Black House, but in her own way, she was looking for a way out. That's how she found the Dark Lord.

There were many rumors in the Slytherin common room for the past few years, about a great wizard who would rise to power and defend the ideals most of those old pure blood families lived by. The parents of some students were already part of The Dark Lord's lines, and word of his legendary ability came to the School of Magic through their children. That they were mostly Slytherin students came as no surprise. That in their common room there would be open talks of joining his ranks, talks that would be but whispered secrets in any other part of the castle, was also to be expected. The word was that the Dark Lord was recruiting. He would need talented, pure blood wizards by his side and those kids - even the seventh years, Andromeda saw now, were nothing more than kids - wanted to a part of it.

She could understand the excitement over joining the Dark Lord. The other members of the order of the phoenix would probably not understand that, but Andromeda was there. They were all so young, so full talent, and energy. They felt invincible, as kids often do, and they wanted to prove themselves. There would be a war, it seemed, and none them truly understood what that meant. They knew they wanted to fight, because they thought they were good enough and they were sure they were on the winning side.

For Bella there was something more as well… The Dark Lord was a powerful wizard. Much too powerful for Rodolphus or even her family to protest once He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named decided he wanted Bella by his side. And he had decided that the first time he met the girl. Bella was excited. She would talk about how powerful and handsome the Dark Lord was, and how he'd chosen her, signing her out amongst the dozens who offered him their services.

Andy was afraid for her older sister. She was a Slytherin, but she had friends in other houses, and she heard about the other rumors as well. The rumors of death counts and victims left behind. Joining the Dark Lord was dangerous, and some part of her just wanted Bella to see that this was not her only choice. There had to be other ways. Andy would drop out of Hogwarts so that Bella would not have to run away alone, if it came to that. But telling her sister that, having that conversation had proven to be a challenge. Ever since Bella started making these new plans, they hardly ever talked anymore.

That's why Andy went to Bella's room during that cold winter night of 1969. She knocked on the door first, but in the absence of a response, seeing as the door wasn't locked, she walked in. But there would be no conversation that night. Bella was sleeping.

Andy didn't turn on the lights, in order not to disturb her sister, but she did get closer, and sat on the corner of the bed, watching her sister sleep.

Bella had always been beautiful. She was tall and lean, with long dark hair that cascaded down her back in curls and meaningful brown eyes. Andy herself, however similar to her sister in appearance, still looked young for a sixteen year old, but to her sister's eyes at least, Bella looked like a woman. The moon shed its light over the chiseled features of her face, and for now at least, she seemed peaceful.

Bella must have been exhausted. Her shoes laid next to the bed, as though they had been carelessly kicked aside, and she still had on the dress she'd been wearing earlier that day. Andy watched her, with saddened eyes. It was like that everyday now. Bella would disappear during the day, and when she got back she allowed her body to fall on the bed, even before removing her make up or taking a shower, too tired for anything other than sleep. She never talked to Andy anymore. Not about her plans, not about what she was doing, who she was with or where she was disappearing to every day. Not that it was hard to guess.

Andromed watched her sister a while longer. Bella looked so peaceful in her sleep. It was a perfect disguise for the tempest in her heart. The room wasn't warm enough, she might be cold. Andy reached out to take her sister's hand, to feel the temperature of her skin, but before she could touch Bella's fingers something caught her eye. A Teddy bear, carelessly laying on the floor, as though it had been kicked from the bed.

Andy picked up the toy and placed the bear on her lap, straightening his tie and patting it behind the ears, as though he could feel it. That used to be Bella's favorite toy. She would fall asleep with it in her arms every night. Just like Andromeda was holding it right now. She hugged the stuffed bear from behind and watched her sister's sleep again. Bella didn't need to have any need for toys anymore.

That old teddy bear was exactly as Andromeda remembered it. She never thought she would hold it again. She never thought she would be walking the corridors of this house again. But she was an old woman now, and she had outlived them all. Her father, her mother, her aunts and uncles, her cousins… Her darling daughter, who's died far before her time. And her sisters. Her beautiful, beloved sisters. Some part of her had always believed this house would one day be filled with Bella and Cissy's children. Not hers. She knew Dora would be the only one for her. It had been difficult enough for her to go through it without her sisters. They would never know just how hard. But Andy knew she couldn't do it again. There were many excuses, there was a war going on. But the truth was that was scared. Ted had been wonderful, but it was just not the same…

A single tear fell from Andromeda's eye and she looked up, catching a glimpse of her reflex on the window glass. Time had had carved its marks on her face. Her hair was now white. But having reached the end of her life, of all the memories from her past, the face that came to her most often was that of her sister. Clutching that old, rotten toy, she thought back to that night in 1969. They were so young then, but they were not children anymore. And Andy wondered how different things would have turned out if they had hold on to each other for a while longer.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I just wrote this pice, in the last couple of hours. I think it's true to the characters, and I would like to get some feedback if possible. I enjoy writing about the Black sisters, even when it's a sad piece of writing._

_If you liked this, I recommend my story "Never Let me Go", which tells the story of the Black sisters from Narcissa's Point of view. Perhaps you'll like that one too._

_Written for The Sharing a Bed Challenge (B); Harry Potter Chapter Challenge (The Patronus - Write about someone reminiscing); Disney Character Challenge (Anna: Write about a sibling bond too strong for magic to break.); he If You dare Challenge (Prompt 788: Reminiscence)_


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